TAE Aerospace to establish TEMF facility in Queensland

TAE Aerospace will establish a turbine engine maintenance facility in Bundamba, south-east Queensland, to support in-country sustainment of Australia’s F-35 Joint Strike fighter (JSF) jets, the Australian Department of Defence announced on 30 August.

The facility will support maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade activities for Australian F-135 engines, including enabling deeper-level maintenance, where JSF F135 engine modules are disassembled, repaired and reassembled for testing.

The Australian government is getting 72 F-35A JSF aircraft to replace the current fleet of 71 ageing F/A-18A/B Classic Hornets.

‘The global F-35 programme has had a positive impact on Australia’s growing defence industry, which has collectively been awarded in excess of $1 billion in production contracts and will support up to 5000 Australian jobs by 2023.’